Leaf loader devices and methods

ABSTRACT

A holding device that is adapted to fit within the opening of a refuse bag to hold the refuse bag open, and a grasping device that is effective to grasp leaves and other debris to load the leaves and other debris into the refuse bag are provided. The holding and grasping devices are particularly effective in that they increase the efficiency of filling standard refuse bags with leaves, sticks, grass, and other debris since the holder maintains the bag in an open position while the grasper is used to load leaves into the bag.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to devices and methods for filling a bag with leaves, grass, debris, and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many homeowners dispose of leaves, grass, and other garbage by raking or sweeping the leave, grass, garbage and/or other debris into refuse bags or lawn and leaf bags. Removing leaves and grass from a lawn, or sweeping or removing garbage or debris from a home or office, can be difficult at least for a person working alone. Typically, in order to gather and discard the leaves or garbage, the person must simultaneously rake or sweep with one hand while using the other hand to hold open the refuse bag into which the leaves or garbage is collected. As such, the job of collecting leaves or garbage can be a tedious and time consuming one.

Several devices have been designed to facilitate the raking and loading of leaves and other debris into refuse bags. U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,461, for example, discloses a device for holding open and facilitating the filling of a trash bag with leaves, grass, debris or the like. The device is a frame-like structure with opposed entry and exit ends. The frame is configured to receive on its exit end a specially configured trash bag having two knots tied within the opening edge of the bag. The bag is placed upon the exterior of the exit end of the frame and pulled toward entry end so that the knots of the bag line up with the holes in the sidewalls. The knots are pulled through the holes and retained in the corresponding slits such that the bag is securely retained on the frame which maintains the bag in a fully open position on the ground or floor surface so as to facilitate sweeping or raking grass, leaves, garbage and other debris or the like into the bag.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,759 discloses another device to facilitate the loading of leaves and other debris into a bag. The device is a generally cylindrical member with funnel portion extending upwardly therefrom. The cylindrical portion includes means for desirably holding the yard waste bag in position, stretched around the cylindrical portion during usage of this bagging device, so that when refuse is deposited into the bagging member, packed down, and when filled to capacity, the bagging member can be removed, leaving all of the yard waste conveniently already deposited into the bag, and ready for tying, removal, and disposal.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,212 discloses another support device for holding a bag open. The support device has a straight free state flexible body with a width sufficient to extend along and hold open a majority of the length of a bag, and it also has a length which defines an arc when flexed inside a bag leaving one side of the bag unsupported by the flexible body for convenient raking and filling of the leaf bag.

While these device can facilitate the loading of leaves and other debris into a bag, some of the devices are limited to use with a specially configured bag. Moreover, the devices are limited to either resting on the ground, which can make it difficult to compact the contents within the bag, or alternatively the device is configured to be used in an upright position, which would require the user to lift the debris to a certain height, thereby creating further difficulty for the user.

Accordingly, there remains a need for improved devices and methods for loading leaves and other debris into a bag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a holding device for use in holding open a refuse bag. In general, the device includes an elongate, substantially planar member having opposed first and second ends, and a mating element formed on at least one of the first and second ends and adapted to removably and mate the first end to the second end to form a substantially cylindrical member. The first and seconds ends are preferably adjustably matable such that a circumference of the elongate, substantially planar member is adjustable when the opposed ends are mated to one another. In use, the elongate member has a length extending between the first and second ends that is sufficient to fit within the opening of a refuse bag and to hold the bag in an open position when the first and second ends are mated to one another.

In one embodiment, the elongate, substantially planar member includes a first pair of female mating elements formed on the first end thereof, and a second pair of male mating elements formed on a second end thereof and matable with the first pair of female mating elements. Each of the first and second pair of mating elements can be disposed along a side edge of the first and second ends of the elongate, substantially planar member. In an exemplary embodiment, each female mating element is a bolt member and each male mating element is a slot having a first portion adapted to removably receive the bolt member and a second portion adapted to retain the bolt member. In another embodiment, the elongate, substantially planar member includes a length extending between the first and second ends that is greater than a width of the elongate, substantially planar member.

The present invention also provides a leaf loading kit having a sleeve member with opposed ends adapted to mate to one another to form a substantially cylindrical member. The opposed ends are adjustably matable to one another such that a circumference of the sleeve member is adjustable. The kit further includes a grasping device having a substantially elongate shape with handle members formed on opposed ends thereof. The sleeve member can include a first pair of female mating elements formed on the first end thereof, and a second pair of male mating elements formed on a second end thereof and matable with the first pair of female mating elements. Each of the first and second pair of mating elements is preferably disposed along a side edge of the first and second ends of the sleeve member. In an exemplary embodiment, each female mating element comprises a bolt member and each male mating element comprises a slot having a first portion adapted to removably receive the bolt member and a second portion adapted to retain the bolt member.

The present invention also provides a method for loading debris into a refuse bag. A sleeve member is provided having opposed ends adapted to mate to one another to form a substantially cylindrical member. The opposed ends are adjustably matable to one another such that a circumference of the sleeve member is adjustable. A refuse bag is also provided having an open end and a bottom. The method includes the steps of inserting the sleeve member into the open end of the refuse bag and mating the opposed ends to one another. The sleeve member adjusts to hold the refuse bag in an opening configuration. The sleeve member is then pressed downward to compact the refuse bag, and debris is loaded into the refuse bag. The method further includes the step of pulling the sleeve member upward to expand the refuse bag such that the debris remains at the bottom of the bag, and repeating the process of loading and pulling until the refuse bag is filled with debris. In a further embodiment, the step of loading debris into the refuse bag comprises providing a grasping device having a substantially elongate shape with handle members formed on opposed ends thereof, and holding the handle members and bringing them toward one another to grasp debris.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of holding sleeve according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of one embodiment of a mating element for use with the holding sleeve of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the holding sleeve of FIG. 1 in a curled position to mate the ends of the holding sleeve to one another;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the holding sleeve of FIG. 1 in the mated position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the holding sleeve of FIG. 4 about to be disposed within a refuse bag according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the holding sleeve of FIG. 4 disposed within the opening of a refuse bag to hold the bag in an open position;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the holding sleeve and refuse bag of FIG. 6 in a compacted position according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a top view of one embodiment of a grasping device according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 a side view of the grasping device shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the grasping device shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a handle member of the grasping device shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is an illustration showing the grasping device of FIG. 8 in use;

FIG. 13 is another illustration showing the grasping device of FIG. 8 in use;

FIG. 14 is an illustration showing the grasping device of FIG. 8 used in connection with the holding sleeve and refuse bag of FIG. 7 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-7, the present invention generally provides a holding sleeve 10 that is adapted to fit within the opening 32 of a refuse bag 30 to hold the refuse bag 30 in an open position. The present invention also provides a grasping device 50, shown in FIGS. 8-13, that is effective to grasp leaves and other debris to load the leaves and other debris into a refuse bag. The holding sleeve 10 and grasping device 50 are particularly effective in that they increase the efficiency of filling standard refuse bags with leaves, sticks, grass and other debris since the holding sleeve 10 maintains the bag 30 in an open position while the gasping device 50 can be used to load leaves into the bag 30.

A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the term “refuse bag” as used herein is intended to include virtually any type of bag, including trash bags and other similar bags. Moreover, the term “debris” is intended to include any materials which a user desired to place into a bag, and thus the term is not intended to be limited to leaves, sticks, grass, etc., and other waste materials. A person skilled in the art will also appreciate that the holding sleeve 10 and the grasping device 50 can be used alone or together, or alternatively they can be used with a variety of other devices.

Referring now the FIG. 1, the holding sleeve 10 generally includes an elongate, substantially planar body 11 having first and second opposed ends 11 a, 11 b, and at least one mating element formed thereon for mating the first and second ends 11 a, 11 b to one another. The elongate planar body 11 can have virtually any shape, but in an exemplary embodiment it has a substantially rectangular shape that defines opposed mating ends 11 a, 11 b which are adapted to mate to form a substantially cylindrical member. The length l and width w of the planar body 11, can also vary, but the length l and width w should be sufficient to allow the mating ends 11 a, 11 b of the planar body 11 to mate to form a cylinder that is adapted to fit within a standard lawn or refuse bag. In an exemplary embodiment, the length l of the planar body 11 is adjustable, as will be discussed in more detail below. While the length l and width w can vary, in an exemplary embodiment the planar body has a length l in the range of about 48 inches to 56 inches, and a width w in the range of about 10 inches to 20 inches.

As indicated above, the planar body 11 includes opposed ends 11 a, 11 b that are adapted to mate to one another. Accordingly, one of the ends, e.g., end 11 a, preferably includes at least one male connector element 12 a, 12 b formed thereon, and the opposed end, e.g., end 11 b, includes at least one female connector element 14 a, 14 b formed thereon that is adapted to mate to the male connector element(s) 12 a, 12 b. As shown in FIG. 1, the first end 11 a includes two male connector elements 12 a, 12 b formed thereon and spaced apart from one another, and the second end 11 b includes two female connector elements 14 a, 14 b formed thereon and spaced apart from one another. By way of non-limiting example, each male and female connector element 12 a, 12 b, 14 a, 14 b can have a variety of configurations, and they can be formed from hook and loop fasteners, including Velcro®, pin members and corresponding detents or bores adapted to receive the pin members, tape, magnets, tongue and groove fasteners, and a variety of other mating elements.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a mating element in the form of a T-bolt that is disposed through the planar body 11. Each T-bolt 12 a, 12 b can be mated to the body using a variety of techniques, but in an exemplary embodiment, shown in FIG. 2, the planar body 11 includes a hole 20 formed therein and the T-bolt 12 a is mated to the planar body 11 by inserting a fastening element, such as screw 18, through the hole 20 to fasten the T-bolt 12 a to the body 11. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that a variety of techniques can be used to mate the T-bolt 12 a to the body 11. The position of the T-bolts 12 a, 12 b can vary, but in an exemplary embodiment the T-bolts are positioned adjacent to the end 11 a of the planar member 11 and are separated from one another such that the first T-bolt 15 a is positioned adjacent to a first lengthwise edge of the planar member 11, and the second T-bolt 15 b is positioned adjacent to the opposed lengthwise edge of the planar member 11.

In order to mate the opposed ends 11 a, 11 b of the planar body to one another, two channels 15 a, 15 b can be formed in end 11 b for receiving the T-bolts 12 a, 12 b. Each channel 15 a, 15 b should be sized to slidably receive the shank of each T-bolt 12 a, 12 b, but to prevent the head for the T-bolts 12 a, 12 b from passing therethrough. Each channel 15 a, 15 b also includes an entry hole 14 a, 14 b formed on one end thereof for allowing the head of the T-bolts 15 a, 15 b to be passed therethrough and slid into the channels, thereby at least temporarily preventing removal of the T-bolts from the channels 15 a, 15 b. The length of the channels 15 a, 15 b allow the circumference of the planar member 11 to be adjusted when the ends 11 a, 11 b are mated to one another. This is particularly advantageous in that the holding sleeve 10 can be used with refuse bags having varying sizes. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that a variety of mating techniques can be used to mate the opposed ends to one another, and FIGS. 1-7 merely illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a mating technique.

FIGS. 3-7 illustrate the holding sleeve 10 in use. As shown in FIG. 3, the ends 11 a, 11 b of the planar member 11 are positioned adjacent to one another, and then the T-bolts 12 a, 12 b are inserted into holes 14 a, 14 b and slid into the channels 15 a, 15 b to form a substantially cylindrical sleeve. The circumference of the sleeve 10 is reduced and the sleeve 10 is then inserted into the opening 22 in a refuse bag 30, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Since the sleeve 10 is preferably formed from a substantially rigid material, the sleeve 10 will expand upon release, thereby enlarging the circumference until the sleeve 10 engages the refuse bag 30 to hold the bag 30 in an open position. In order to prevent the bag 30 from tipping over, the sleeve 10 is preferably pressed downward to rest on the ground, thereby compacting the bag. As debris is introduced into the bag, the sleeve 10 can be incrementally pulled upward to allow the debris to fall to the bottom of the bag 30. This procedure is particularly effective in that it provides a stable configuration for loading debris into the bag 30, and it allows the bag 30 to be completely and compactly filled.

As previously stated, the present invention further provides a holding device 50 for grasping debris and loading it into a bag. As shown in FIGS. 8-12, the holding device 50 is preferably formed from a substantially planar member, and it includes handle members 52 a, 52 b disposed on opposed ends 50 a, 50 b thereof for grasping the device 50. Each handle member 52 a, 52 b can have virtually any configuration, but it should allow a user to firmly grip both ends 50 a, 50 b of the device. In use, the handles 52 a, 52 n can be gripped to bring the ends 50 a, 50 b of the device 50 together to grasp debris, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

The sleeve 10 and grasping device 50 can be formed from a variety of materials. Suitable materials include, for example, flexible materials such as cardboard, corrugated cardboard, plastics, metals, etc.

A person skilled in the art will appreciate further features and advantages of the invention based on the above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited by what has been particularly shown and described, except as indicated by the appended claims. All publications and references cited herein are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 

1. A leaf loading kit, comprising: holding device for use in holding open a refuse bag comprising an elongate, substantially planar member having opposed first and second ends, and a mating element formed on at least one of the first and second ends and adapted to removably and mate the first end to the second end to form a substantially cylindrical member, wherein the first and seconds ends are adjustably matable such that a circumference of the elongate, substantially planar member is adjustable when the opposed ends are mated to one another, and wherein the elongate member has a length extending between the first and second ends that is sufficient to fit within the opening of a refuse bag and to hold the bag in an open position when the first and second ends are mated to one another; and a grasping device separate from the holding device and having a substantially elongate shape with handle members formed on opposed ends thereof.
 2. The kit of claim 1, wherein the elongate, substantially planar member includes a first pair of female mating elements formed on the first end thereof, and a second pair of male mating elements formed on a second end thereof and matable with the first pair of female mating elements.
 3. The kit of claim 2, wherein each of the first and second pair of mating elements is disposed along a side edge of the first and second ends of the elongate, substantially planar member.
 4. The kit of claim 2, wherein each female mating element comprises a bolt member and each male mating element comprises a slot having a first portion adapted to removably receive the bolt member and a second portion adapted to retain the bolt member.
 5. The kit of claim 1, wherein the elongate, substantially planar member includes a length extending between the first and second ends that is greater than a width of the elongate, substantially planar member.
 6. A leaf loading kit, comprising: a sleeve member having opposed ends adapted to mate to one another to form a substantially cylindrical member, the opposed ends being adjustably matable to one another such that a circumference of the sleeve member is adjustable; a grasping device separate from the sleeve member and having a substantially elongate shape with handle members formed on opposed ends thereof.
 7. The kit of claim 6, wherein the sleeve member includes a first pair of female mating elements formed on the first end thereof, and a second pair of male mating elements formed on a second end thereof and matable with the first pair of female mating elements.
 8. The kit of claim 7, wherein each of the first and second pair of mating elements is disposed along a side edge of the first and second ends of the sleeve member.
 9. The kit of claim 7, wherein each female mating element comprises a bolt member and each male mating element comprises a slot having a first portion adapted to removably receive the bolt member and a second portion adapted to retain the bolt member.
 10. The kit of claim 6, wherein the sleeve member includes a length extending between the first and second ends that is greater than a width of the sleeve member.
 11. (Cancelled).
 12. (Cancelled). 